Trust Me
by Beautiful-Oblivion321
Summary: When Max and her Flock stumble upon a few other mutants that are just like them, what will happen? Will the two groups combine? Will they ever get along? And how can Max be sure that they aren't just spies?
1. Chapter 1

"Max, aren't those things a little big to be birds?"

I looked up, wondering what Gazzy was talking about. I groaned. There were three figures high above us. They could have passed as birds, but they were too high up and too big. "Okay, it looks like flyboys. Let's land in an open spot so we can fight."

"There's only three, Max, do we really need to worry?" Nudge asked.

"Three?" Iggy scoffed. "We can take 'em!"

"Shut up and land." I muttered. They both grinned, but obeyed, and we all tilted our wings to descend slowly.

Once we were on the ground, I looked up again. But the only thing I saw was the endless blue sky, dotted with wispy clouds that were tinged with pink from the setting sun. "They're gone." I whispered in wonder. My eyes narrowed. "Iggy?"

Iggy closed his eyes, listening hard. Then he pointed without opening them again. "There. About twenty meters away. They're walking, not running. And, Max? They aren't as heavy as erasers would be." He added, opening his eyes again.

I puzzled over that thought, but was interupted by the rustle of a bush. In a reflex motion, I shoved Angel and Gazzy behind my back. They both grumbled in complaint, and peeked out from behind my to see what was coming.

"Three..." Iggy murmured, "Two..."

I exchanged a worried look with Fang. Actually, I was the only one looking worried, because his eyes were like pieces of coal. Very emotionless coal.

"Three."

And then they stepped into the clearing.

**Sorry, none of the other chapters will be this short, I promise.**


	2. Another Flock

There weren't three, there were four.

The first one had skin the color of dark chocolate, dark green eyes, and long silky black hair. She looked about my age.

But, ha, guess what? She had _wings. _

They were a stunning silver, and then were unfolded, though they hung to the ground limply, the ends of them trailing in the dirt. She had a hesitant smile on her face.

The second one looked about twelve. She had tangled long caramel colored hair, and wild black eyes. She was looking everywhere at once, assessing us all. Her wings were open, poised for flight. They were a pretty gray/blue. She looked like a fighter to me.

The third was a little boy. He couldn't have been more than four, and he looked at us with wide, trusting eyes that just made me melt. He had short dark brown hair, and his wings were only slightly unfolded. They were dark gray and streaked with black. The oldest girl cradled him in her arms, which was the reason we only saw three of them when they were flying.

The fourth one was a boy, probably about eleven. He was incredibly pale, with short blond hair. He had electric blue eyes, and though his wings were out in a position that suggested he would fly off in a split-second. They were dark brown, and streaked with grays and whites. He was looking at us calmly.

"Uh, hi." Nudge said, always the first one to speak.

The oldest girl smiled. "Hello. We saw you flying, and... it wasn't really something we could ignore."

Gazzy was whispering the situation to a wide eyed Iggy under his breath.

I stepped forward, holding out my hand. "I'm Max. Fourteen."

I thought that maybe there was a glint of suspicion in the girl's eyes. Did she think I was lying? "I'm Oaky. I'm thirteen." She finally said, slipping her hand into mine and shaking them up and down. We drew apart, stepping back to stand in the midst of our individual Flocks.

"This is Fang, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Iggy." Total glared at me. "Oh, and this is Total." I added hastily.

"Thanks for remembering." Total muttered.

Oaky's hand flew up to cover her open mouth, the older boy turned to Total and stared, the younger boy giggled, and the younger girl jumped and staggered backward.

I noticed something about the way the younger girl moved. Her leg was twisted at an awkward angle, and when she moved, she moved with a limp. The girl was a cripple.

I raised an eyebrow. Oaky followed my gaze, then looked back at me with anger. "She's not a burden, if that's what you think." She snapped.

I laughed and slipped an arm over Iggy's shoulder. "It's okay. This ones blind." I said with a good natured smile. Iggy grunted and pulled away, making Oaky laugh.

"Okay, sooo, you have a talking dog?" Oaky asked, looking back at Total.

"He can fly too." I said. Total opened his wings proudly.

"Wow." Oaky murmured. Then she shook her head, gently placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder as she took another awkward step back. "Calm down." She whispered. The girl gave her a look, but said nothing.

"Anyway," Oaky went on, "This is Rush," She said, shaking the shoulder of the girl, "Ice," she said, nodding to the pale boy, "and Ian." She finished, patting the toddler on the head.

Oaky looked around nervously. "Do you have a camp here? Is it safe from erasers?" She asked.

"You know about erasers too?" Angel asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, they've only made our lives a living hell." Ice mumbled, earning him a glare from Oaky. I beamed, recognizing my own death glare that I frequently gave to my Flock.

"No camp," I said, "sorry, but those trees look pretty inviting, and I think we both have stories to tell."


	3. Their Story

Nudge and Ice settled side by side in a branch, Rush took a spot near the top of the tree, letting her crippled leg dangle. Fang and I sat opposite to Oaky, who held Ian in her lap. Angel and Gazzy were below Ice and Nudge, and Iggy sat below Oaky.

"So... do you want to tell your story first, or should I?" I asked.

Oaky bit her lip. "You can go ahead."

I raised an eyebrow, but started talking anyway.

I told her the story of how we started off in the school, how Iggy had received his sightlessness, how we had escaped and lived with Jeb, when suddenly he disappeared. I told her how he had betrayed us, and how Angel had been stolen, how got her back, how we were hunted by erasers like rabbits being hunted by a fox. I skipped the part about Ari being my brother. I talked about Itex.

I took a deep breath, finally finished. I examined their faces. Oaky was looked at me solemnly, while Rush had her eyes narrowed. Ice was staring at my flock with a raised eyebrow. Ian quietly sucked his thumb.

"I guess it's my turn." Oaky said.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke. "We started out in the school, like you. Of course, I was the first one created. When I was three, I remember that I was sitting in my room... well, cage, I guess, and Rush came in, a newborn baby, carried by a whitecoat. She wasn't crying like most newborns. She was silent, moving her wings up and down and staring at me.

"We grew up together until they brought Ice in, and he had wings too. Then... one day... Rush snapped. She wanted out. And Ice agreed. They couldn't take being confined anymore. He was only five then, and Rush was eight, but... you know, kids. They didn't want the confined space. They wanted to be free. They wanted to fly without being hunted down in a game of cat and mouse.

"And the next day, I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, Ice was yanking at the bars of his cage. He managed to pull them apart, to wiggle free and unlock Rush's cage. Then he looked at me and said... 'Oaky, are you coming, or are you going to spend the rest of your life as an experiment?'" Ice grinned at the memory, and Rush smiled too.

"So I let them unlock my cage. I let Rush bust the lock on the door, I let Ice swing it open. And I followed them. We ran through the halls, when we suddenly came across the nursery. Almost all of the babies were sick, or ready to die because of the way they'd been experimented on. But Ian was still healthy." The four-year-old looked up at the sound of his name.

"I was healthy." He murmured.

Oaky smiled. "Yes, you were." She glanced at Rush and Ice and then went on. "So I grabbed Ian, and we split. We got out of there, and we've been away ever since. On the run, still being hunted."

"But at least you're free." Fang said softly. Oaky looked at him, obviously surprised to see him speak.

She finally nodded. "Yeah, we're free." She brushed the hair out of her face.

"How did Rush get her leg?" I asked, looking up at her. She returned the look with hard black eyes.

"Rush?" Oaky offered.

Rush nodded, then opened her mouth, and spoke. It was the first time she had talked in our presence. "It was one of their "Tests"." She said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "They brought me into a room. I looked up. There were weights on the ceiling. They started to fall. I had to dodge. But... I failed. One landed on my leg, and I scream. The test ended. They brought me into the emergency room, but, of course, they couldn't fix my leg." She nudged the crippled leg with her other foot, and it swung uselessly back and forth.

I looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "That must be hard."

She looked back at me, and I thought she was angry for a moment, but then one of the corners of her mouth turned upward in a grin.

"Not when you can fly."


End file.
